In 2009, writer-director Neill Blomkamp came out of
seemingly nowhere with "District
9," a sci-fi action film that not only earned the attention of audiences
but also of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, snagging four
Oscar nominations in the process, including for best picture. On Friday (Aug.
9), the South African filmmaker returns to theaters with his sophomore effort,
"Elysium," and if nothing else it proves that "District 9" was anything but a
case of beginner's luck.

Like Blomkamp's first film, "Elysium" is a briskly paced thriller
adorned with all the expected summertime flourishes: chase scenes, fight
scenes, futuristic dystopian obstacles. But more importantly -- and again like
"District 9" -- it also strives to be something more. Yes, it is a summertime
genre film, but it's also a sci-fi parable. That places it among the more
rewarding recent entries in the genre: the kind of science fiction that
accentuates relevance over robots (although there are those, too).

Granted, "Elysium" might lack the thrill of discovery that "District
9" carried, and the deeper messages aren't really buried that deep, truth be
told -- but there's still plenty to appreciate here, starting with the fact
that it doesn't fail to entertain.

Much of that has to do with Blomkamp's eerie ability to
create with his cameras a future that feels remarkably, depressingly credible.
His "Elysium" is set in the year 2154, a time in which the gulf between the
world's haves and have-nots has widened to untenable proportions. The have-nots
must live in the favela-like slums that dominate the face of the Earth --
ramshackle, disease-ridden places in which nearly every surface is covered with
graffiti, which is turn covered with filth. Shrouding the whole depressing
scene is a mix of desperation and futility.

The haves, on the other hand, have decided to remove
themselves from such troubling environs entirely. They live above it all --
where they would certainly argue they belong -- in a delicate hulk of a space
station habitat.

Quiet and refined, it is a Kubrick-esque paradise above
Earth, fittingly called Elysium, borrowing its name from the mythological heaven (and,
incidentally, the same place after which Elysian Fields Avenue gets its name).
Not only do its residents enjoy round-the-clock peace, tranquility and a sense
of coddled security, but they also have access to the kind of health care their
lessers down on Earth can only dream about.

The only thing the residents of Elysium are more obsessed
with than their own comfort is keeping out the riff-raff from down below. To
that end, they've developed an elaborate security system -- employing
DNA-encoded arm brands, an army of aggressive, 7-foot-tall security robots and
other, similarly drastic methods -- to protect their way of life. Tasked with
overseeing it all is Jodie Foster, playing
a cold-eyed, cold-hearted bureaucrat who -- like so many cold-eyed,
cold-hearted bureaucrats -- seems to enjoy trodding on the downtrodden just a
little too much.

That's where Matt Damon comes
in, as one of those downtrodden souls -- born into poverty and, it would seem,
destined to stay that way -- but who dreams of saving up enough money to buy a
ticket to Elysium. In the meantime, he must toil away in a nearby robot
factory, helping to manufacture the very tools of his oppression.

Until, that is, events transpire that put him in a
precarious position. He can either die, or he can join up with a group of noble
terrorists hoping to crash the party up on Elysium and -- with the aid of a
strength-providing exoskeleton bolted to his bones -- topple the powers that be.

Determined to stop him is Sharlto Copley,
who gets -- and seizes -- a chance to show off his range. In "District 9," he
played the milquetoast bureaucrat Wikus, who becomes an unlikely ally to an
alien race. His role in "Elysium" represents a 180-degree turn, as he plays a
chiseled and ruthless sleeper agent with hardly a trace of humanity about him.
He is equally credible in both roles.

Between Foster and Damon, there's a certain humorlessness to
Blomkamp's film, which is a note or three too grave for its own good. Blomkamp
also has a way of skillfully dodging the little inconveniences that tend to
crop up in sci-fi stories. (Among the lighter ones: How does Damon's character
intend to change his shirt, what with the exoskeleton and all?)

He makes up for it, though, by building modern relevance into
his film while avoiding ever climbing up on his soapbox. Here, his story
addresses such issues as wealth inequality, access to health care and immigration
-- but none are so in-your-face as to make "Elysium" feel like any more of a
political film than any individual viewer wants it to be.

(Either way, be careful before cheering too loudly for Damon
and his cohorts. If you live in America, you live in Elysium, depending on your
interpretation of the film. A troubling but challenging thought? Yes,
thrillingly so.)

Granted, "Elysium" could be more clever as it goes about its
business. This is smart sci-fi, but it's not as smart as it could have been --
or as many "District 9" fans were probably hoping it would be.

Still, it's rewarding in its own way -- and far more so than
the special-effects-laden, mind-numbing bombast that Hollywood so often tries
to pass off as sci-fi these days.

_______

ELYSIUM3 stars, out of 5

Snapshot: A
sci-fi thriller, set in the year 2154, about a man who is determined to break
down the elaborate boundaries separating the world's haves and its far-more
numerous have-nots.

What works: It
makes an effort to be relevant in addition to entertaining, which helps it function
on multiple levels.

What doesn't:
It's not as smart as it could have been -- or that fans of director Neill
Blomkamp's "District 9" might have been hoping for.